In a moment that some would consider to be pure insanity, I decided to impose upon myself the task of baking and decorating not one but three cakes one Saturday.... just for practice and the fun of it.
I've been wanting to try the ever so popular "ruffle" technique, so I came up with a few designs that I thought were pretty, girly and summery.
My first design, "Pearls and Ruffles", reminded me of a lady's vintage dress with a string of pearls, and it was by far, my favorite one that I did that day. This was a 3-layer chocolate cake, with almond filling and buttercream. I had actually intended the buttercream to be baby blue, but it ended up as more of a seafoam green, which was still really lovely.
I named my next design "Sweet Daisies", and this is a tart lemon cake, filled with lemon curd, and covered in lemon buttercream. I was a little tired by the time I decorated this one, later on that evening, and didn't spend much time trying to smooth out the frosting, so it's a little more "rustic". I just did a simple design of dots to create the illusion of pretty flowers and daisies all over this little 6-inch cake.
And the last design, "Pretty in Pink", is another small 6-inch white cake, filled with fresh raspberry filling, and frosted with pink raspberry buttercream. The rows of ruffles and dots around the sides of the cake remind me of a little girl's summer dress.
In retrospect, I can see areas in each design that I would change or improve the next time, but I think any one of these would be so beautiful for a bridal shower, baby shower, or girl's birthday party!
One Year Ago: Sweet Potato Chips
Two Years Ago: Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Waffles with Homemade Lemon Curd
Summer Cakes in Pretty Pastels, Dots and Ruffles...
“Pearls and
Ruffles”
Chocolate Cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs (room temperature)
- 1 cup milk (room temperature)
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Almond Buttercream:
·
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room
temperature
·
4 cups powdered sugar
·
2 tablespoons meringue powder
·
1 ½ teaspoons almond extract
·
4 tablespoons milk
Almond Filling:
·
1 cup almond buttercream (above)
·
8 ounces almond paste
Bake the Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350.
Spray the bottoms only of three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick spray,
line with parchment paper, and spray the paper also. Set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment, combine the dry ingredients.
Add the wet ingredients and beat for 2-3 minutes, until well
combined. Divide batter between the pans
and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out
clean. Cool completely on wire racks,
covered loosely with a clean kitchen towel.
Make the
Buttercream and Filling:
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk
attachment, beat the butter for one minute.
Combine the powdered sugar and meringue powder, and with the mixer on
low, add the powdered sugar a spoonful at a time. Add the almond extract and milk, and beat on
medium high for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add food coloring, if desired.
Beat one cup of the buttercream with the almond paste
until smooth. Set aside.
Assemble and
Decorate:
Remove the cakes from the pans and level the tops, if
needed. Place one of the cakes on a
pedestal or cake board and top with half the filling. Add another cake and top with the rest of the
filling. Add the last cake. Frost all over with a thin crumb coat of
buttercream, and chill for 15 minutes in the refrigerator before frosting with
a final layer of buttercream.
For the pearls and ruffles, I used a small round tip to
pipe white buttercream in rows of small dots, then a medium rose tip to pipe
the ruffles in tinted buttercream, from the bottom edge, up to the top center, alongside
the dots. Hold the piping bag with the
wide side of the rose tip against the cake, and the narrow side facing out, to
create the ruffles. It’s a good idea to
practice on a plate to get a feel for the design, before piping onto the cake.
“Sweet Daisies”
Lemon Cake:
·
½ box white cake mix
·
2 eggs
·
1/3 cup buttermilk
·
¼ cup lemon juice
·
¼ cup oil
·
Zest of 2 lemons
Lemon Buttercream:
·
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room
temperature
·
3 cups powdered sugar
·
2 tablespoon meringue powder
·
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
·
Milk, if needed
Lemon Filling:
·
½ cup lemon curd
Bake the Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350.
Spray the bottoms only of three 6-inch cake pans with non-stick spray,
line with parchment paper, and spray the paper also. Set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment beat all of the cake ingredients for 2-3 minutes, until well
combined. Divide batter between the pans
and bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out
clean. Cool completely on wire racks,
covered loosely with a clean kitchen towel.
Make the
Buttercream:
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk
attachment, beat the butter for one minute.
Combine the powdered sugar and meringue powder, and with the mixer on
low, add the powdered sugar a spoonful at a time. Add the lemon zest, juice and milk, and beat
on medium high for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add food coloring, if desired.
Assemble and
Decorate:
Remove the cakes from the pans and level the tops, if
needed. Place one of the cakes on a
pedestal or cake board and top with half the lemon curd. Add another cake and top with the rest of the
lemon curd. Add the last cake. Frost all over with a thin crumb coat of
buttercream, and chill for 15 minutes in the refrigerator before frosting with
a final layer of buttercream.
I used a small round tip to pipe all the dots around the
sides of the cake, for the centers and petals of the daisies. Then I piped the large daisy on top with the
same round tip.
“Pretty in Pink”
White Cake:
·
½ box white cake mix
·
2 eggs
·
½ cup whole milk/cream
·
¼ cup oil
·
1 teaspoon vanilla
Raspberry Buttercream:
·
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room
temperature
·
3 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
·
3 cups powdered sugar
·
1 tablespoon meringue powder
·
1 teaspoon vanilla
·
2-3 tablespoons milk
Raspberry Filling:
·
½ cup raspberry buttercream, above
·
6 ounces fresh raspberries
Bake the Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350.
Spray the bottoms only of three 6-inch cake pans with non-stick spray,
line with parchment paper, and spray the paper also. Set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment beat all of the cake ingredients for 2-3 minutes, until well
combined. Divide batter between the pans
and bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out
clean. Cool completely on wire racks,
covered loosely with a clean kitchen towel.
Make the
Buttercream and Filling:
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk
attachment, beat the butter and raspberry jam for one minute. Combine the powdered sugar and meringue
powder, and with the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar a spoonful at a time. Add the vanilla and milk, and beat on medium
high for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
Add food coloring, if desired.
Mix ½ cup of the buttercream with fresh raspberries, for
the filling.
Assemble and
Decorate:
Remove the cakes from the pans and level the tops, if
needed. Place one of the cakes on a
pedestal or cake board and top with half the filling. Add another cake and top with the rest of the
filling. Add the last cake. Frost all over with a thin crumb coat of
buttercream, and chill for 15 minutes in the refrigerator before frosting with
a final layer of buttercream.
For ruffles, I used a small rose tip to pipe the ruffles
around the sides of the cake. Hold the
piping bag with the wide side of the rose tip against the cake, and the narrow
side facing out, to create the ruffles.
It’s a good idea to practice on a plate to get a feel for the design,
before piping onto the cake. Then I
piped the ruffles on top of the cake, starting at the center and moving to the
edge. I then used a small round tip to
pipe white buttercream dots between the rows of ruffles.
Recipes and Designs
from Curly Girl Kitchen
